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I answered a question on Stack Overflow this morning. Later the author of the question added a comment to my answer indicating that my answer was helpful.

I responded back, asking the author to please accept my answer if he/she felt that it answered the question.

For the curious here is the question:

HTTP POST XML content from cucumber

My question: is it kosher to encourage the author to accept your own answer in this way?

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    It's only kosher if your "Cucumber" has no "bugs": jewfaq.org/kashrut.htm (general rule #5) – gnostradamus Nov 12 '09 at 19:22
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    But not sea-cucumbers, I don't know about the giant mutant walking cucumbers on Dilbert - do they chew the cud? – Martin Beckett Nov 12 '09 at 19:30
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    So long as you don't mix meat and dairy, and a rabbi blessed your comment, I think it's kosher. – Hilarious Comedy Pesto Nov 12 '09 at 19:45
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There is no problem in tactfully requesting the user mark your response as THE Answer. In this specific case there is only one answer and the question has been around for a little while (6 hours) and the user responded "Bingo! Thanks for your help". This appears to be a case where questioner does not completely understand the SO rules/etiquette. A gentle nudge towards the right this is proper.

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I see nothing wrong with it, in particular because yours is the only answer, and the asker's rep is on the lower side, indicating he might still need some guidance with how the site works.

If either of those weren't true, it would probably be inappropriate. As to whether it's kosher, you'd have to ask a rabbi.

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    +1. Sometimes it's obvious that new users are simply unaware of how the site works: they leave a comment stating their satisfaction, but do not upvote/accept the answer. Upon checking their profile you'll notice that they didn't accept an answer on any of their other questions either. If I notice that such a user comments on somebody else's answer then I'll leave a comment explaining how the site works: that does not put the answerer in the (perhaps slightly awkward, as this question shows) position of doing this himself. Example of earlier today: stackoverflow.com/questions/1721040 – Stephan202 Nov 12 '09 at 19:50
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    The times I had an accepted answer without upvotes is laughable, sometimes the way the site works against itself – Ivo Flipse Nov 12 '09 at 20:09
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Might or might not be kosher, but it certainly is gauche.

I mean, come on, have a little dignity already.

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  • Could you suggest a non 'gauche' way to encourage the proper SO etiquette then? – user138872 Nov 12 '09 at 20:26
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    Get someone from Meta to come and post a comment about how the accept thing works. That way, it won't seem overtly grabby. – random Nov 13 '09 at 0:17

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